14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists with the National Center for Family and Marriage Research (NCFMR), at the Bowling Green State University (BGSU) found that young adults tend to display the signs of common rights of passage into adulthood by the time they reach the age of 25.
These include, but are not limited to, living together with their significant other, getting married or having children. In the investigation, it was determined that 61 percent of those in their mid-20s had fulfilled at least one of these criteria.
The team behind the work arrived at this conclusion during an analysis of possible pathways to family formation. Data used in this investigation were collected from the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, PsychCentral reports.
Researchers did find some differences in this type of behavior among genders. Only 53 percent of young adult males settled down during the study period, whereas nearly 70 percent of women did so.
At the same time, it was found that education had a deep impact on overall family formation patterns. Those with lower levels of education tended to be more likely to form families at a younger age than those with superior studies.
Only 44 percent of those with at least a bachelor’s degree were reported to have settled down, married or have children. Conversely, about 81 percent of those with GED diplomas did so during the study.
“Increasingly, young adults are spending more time in school as they pursue college and advanced degrees. This tends to delay family formation – whether childbearing, cohabitation, or marriage – as most people aim to achieve financial security prior to starting a family,” Dr. Susan Brown says.
The expert holds an appointment as a sociologist and researcher at the NCFMR. One of the conclusions her team drew from the study was that cohabitation was one of the strongest pathways to marriage.
“Today, most marriages are preceded by cohabitation. It’s really become a stage in the courtship process. It’s unusual for couples to marry without first cohabiting,” the expert goes on to say.
Statistically, about 60 percent of all young adults reported cohabiting with someone before marriage. The percentage was higher for women, but only by a small margin. What this implies is that the behavior has advantages that both genders can see.